Arapahoe County man gets 135 years in domestic abuse

Staff report

Posted
3/28/13

An Arapahoe County man has been sentenced to more than a century in prison for the sexual assault and attempted murder of his estranged wife.

On March 22, District Judge F. Stephen Collins sentenced Robert Lafe Todd of Aurora to 135 years to life on 11 criminal counts including sexual assault, attempted second-degree murder, kidnapping, first-degree assault, first-degree burglary, and menacing.

According to investigators’ reports, Todd broke into the home of his estranged wife on May 16, 2010 and tried to kill her and another man in front of their 10-year-old son.

Todd then repeatedly sexually assaulted her in front of the boy before sheriff’s deputies could arrive.

“This is an opportunity for the court to send a message to the community about domestic violence and violence against women,” argued prosecutor Andrew Steers at sentencing. “Violence in the home, violence against those closest to you is the most damaging kind.”

Todd was on parole at the time of the crime. He had been released from prison for an earlier domestic violence incident where he held a knife to the throat of his son.